The return from the hidden sector pulled on longer than the passage in.
There was no chatter in the wake of the blind silence that remained sealed behind. The metronome pulse carried on as if meeting with the higher being had never been the reason for such a meeting. Lucifer led them through the outer layers in careful stillness. Nyx kept herself to her darkness. Aeloria had the rear lined in the same tight concentration that had been used to force the gap. Heron and the two Origin operatives watched for the second wave that never came.
When the weight of the outer lattices of the Vampire Realm finally caged them in, the distance felt less empty. The monitoring sites took them at once.
Lucian was waiting on the outer observation platform when they landed. Zane and Anita had been with him and when Lucian saw their features upon landing, he was not surprised to know the expedition had more to return with.
"You reached something," Lucian said.
